Sheets of fabric are often used to cover an underlying article to protect the article from adverse effects of environmental exposure and/or wear during use. Tarps protecting vehicles or equipment, such as barbecue grills, are examples of the former and upholstery seat covers, bed sheets and mattress pads are examples of the latter. Often the covers-have an aesthetic as well as functional purpose. An age old problem with such covers has been preventing the cover from partially or completely coming off the article during use while attaching the cover such that it can be easily removed for cleaning, repair and/or to gain unrestricted access to the underlying article.
A traditional technique has been to utilize an elastic cord at the periphery of the sheet fabric such that when the cover is deployed on the article, the elastic is stretched peripherally and maintained under tension. With respect to bed sheets, mattress pads and furniture seat covers, it is known to use a peripherally elastic skirt at the periphery of the sheet or pad in place of or in combination with an elastic cord. Examples of such skirt technology is disclosed in US patents of Xymid, LLC, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,287,574; 5,247,893; 5,187,952; 5,603,132; 5,636,393; 6,199,231 and 6,272,701. Another conventional method of reducing the tendency of the cover to come off the article has been to use a high friction surface on the surface of the cover facing the article. These techniques function with a varying degree of success primarily when the covered article is not disturbed, e.g., for a tarp covering a car or boat not affected by wind, or a dust cover for furniture seldom or never used. However, when the cover is subject to motion or disturbance during use, such as a mattress cover on a bed, none of the established techniques provide fully satisfying results.
A very common product for covering mattresses for beds is a “fitted” sheet. Some styles use an elastic cord to gather the outer edge of the sheet, as mentioned above. Despite the use of very high modulus cords, i.e., strongly elastic, such sheets tend to “ride up” over the bottom edge of the mattress to expose the side of the mattress to view and also can come off enough to expose the top of the mattress during normal use. Another drawback is that the elasticity of the cords degrades with time under tension and due to thermal effects during laundering. Fitted sheets that use conventional skirts of typically up to about 6 inches in width with or without elastic cord borders sometimes have an unacceptable appearance and still are not completely successful at maintaining the sheet in place or retaining their anti-slipping performance after long time in use.
There remains a need to have a cover for an article that better resists the tendency to ride up or come off the article. It is desirable to have an article cover that retains its ability to stay in place over long time in use. There is a great need for an effective slip-resistant cover, especially for covering mattresses, which is aesthetically attractive.